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Tuition AND Fees Waived for Dependents — 100% P&T, KIA or MIA

Spouses, children, stepchildren and adopted children of a veteran who is 100% permanently and totally disabled — or was killed in action, died of a service-connected disability, or has been missing or captured 90+ days — attend the public university system, community colleges and the maritime academy with tuition AND all mandatory fees waived.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

Spouses, children, stepchildren and adopted children of a veteran who is 100% permanently and totally disabled — or was killed in action, died of a service-connected disability, or has been missing or captured 90+ days — attend the public university system, community colleges and the maritime academy with tuition AND all mandatory fees waived.

What it's worth: 100% waiver of tuition and ALL mandatory fees at the public university system, community colleges and maritime academy

  • Room, board and books charge normally; the Pell Grant application is a programme condition.

Who is entitled to it

  • The veteran holds a 100% permanent and total rating — the living-veteran route.
  • The veteran entered service from this state or was a five-year resident.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Check the veteran gate: 100% permanent and total; killed in action; died of a service-connected disability (or was permanently and totally disabled at death from service causes); or listed missing, captured or forcibly detained 90+ days on active duty. "Veteran" here means entered service from this state or five years of residency.
  2. 2Check the clocks — they differ by class: children must ENROL before age 22 (excused where their own armed forces service prevented it) and then have SIX consecutive academic years to finish; spouses have TEN consecutive years from entrance.
  3. 3Apply for a federal Pell Grant — the programme requires the application whatever the result — then claim the waiver at the university system, a community college or the maritime academy.
Form
VDEB application through the bureau
File with
The Bureau of Veterans' Services
Documents you will need
va benefit summary letter
Annual
Claimed once a year.
CorrectionTwo details the summaries get wrong: the waiver covers mandatory FEES as well as tuition — broader than the tuition-only waivers most states run — and the completion clocks are asymmetric: ten consecutive years for a spouse, six academic years for a child. A child who defers past 22 without armed-forces cause is out.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.